"We choose cars that we'd like to have parked in the shed," Mr Paynter explained.

"You could go for the top this or the top that, but the ones we choose might not be the shiniest; they're just something we'd like to take home."

Former AFL star Mark "Jacko" Jackson awarded trophies to owners of the best five cars and American actor Paul Le Mat, star of the film American Graffiti, flew over from the States specifically for the event.

The hot rod festival has been going for four years in Bruns- wick Heads and brings together car lovers from all over the country along with some unique cars, many worth more than $100,000.

"The furthest car we've got came from Nowra on the South Coast and there are others from the Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Orange, the Gold Coast and Brisbane," Mr Paynter said.

"We've got Fords, Dodges, early Chevrolets and Cadillacs galore.

"Some have been beautifully restored and some of them are as they were found.

"There's a lot of cars with left-hand drive because it's a really big thing importing cars from America now which we've never had in Australia."

However, Mr Paynter claimed the best cars were 1932 and 1936 Fords.

"They're the iconic hot-rod from the '40s and '50s, when hot-rodding first kicked off," he said.